The Ravens have heard all the praise about the roster and talent.
The Baltimore Ravens have been heralded as one of the best teams in the NFL heading into training camp in 2025. And on Day 1, players and coaches were asked about what they think of the team and the Super Bowl expectations. And while most embraced them, Head Coach John Harbaugh noted the ones not marking them so highly.
“I saw all the other people saying we’re not this or that or the other,” Harbaugh said. “I noticed those articles more than I noticed anybody that says we’re good. So, I don’t know, maybe that’s a personal issue.”
With the heightened expectations, Harbaugh noted he’s communicated with the team on focusing on the process and preparation of training camp.
“We do talk about step-by-step [and] day-by-day. We want to have one great day at a time,” Harbaugh said. “Then within that, we want to have one great meeting at a time. We want to have one great lifting and conditioning session at a time. The guys like to eat, so we should be able to have one great meal at a time, too. Then one period at a time, one series at a time, one play at a time, and then try to finish as strong as we can and be at our best at the end. Just be intentional about all those things and then put that day away and try to do it again the next day.”
Leaders on offense — Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry — are not caring about the labels and expectations. Rather, they’re focused on the work that lies before them.
“It’s always cool to be on a team with high-caliber players who have incredible talent, but I think you’ve got to put the work in,” Henry said. “Everybody can look good in the jersey and have the big name, but it is about the work you put in, the chemistry you build on the field each and every day, pushing each other to get each other better. So when we get to the season, we’re clicking on all cylinders, but we’re all more interested in the work than all the hype and what it looks like.”
Jackson was asked more specifically about the Super Bowl expectations and if this is the year the Ravens break through. But Jackson — who has always preached his desire for a championship — is keeping his sights set on camp.
“To be honest, I’m really not trying to think that far [ahead], because every time we had those discussions, man, we get to the playoffs, but we don’t punch in,” Jackson said. “We don’t finish, so I’m pretty much just trying to finish camp the correct way and then get ready for the Bills. I’m not really trying to think about the Super Bowl yet.”
The expectations are what they are. The talent on the team is visible and Jackson did admit what this offense is and could be: one of the best offenses he’s been around.
“Yes, absolutely,” Jackson said. “I say that every year though, but yes, we have a great group of guys, a great wide receiving corps, great running backs, great tight ends [and a] great offensive line,” Jackson said. “We got the same guys back, [with] one guy missing [from last year] on the O-line. Defense is looking incredible as always. We’re looking great on paper, like I said, but we’re going to see when the time comes.”
For Roquan Smith, the expectations of winning and lifting a trophy isn’t so much from the outside and the commentary surrounding the team, but instead the standards set by the organization from its inception.
“I think the expectations are high here, ever since the Ravens [have] been an organization, ever since I’ve been born and known of the Baltimore Ravens, but at the end of the day, you can’t focus [on] the outside stuff,” Smith said. “It’s just more so about the people that are in this building each and every day, because that’s what truly matters, and that’s who you truly have to answer to – like your brothers, who you’re going out there to war with – because at the end of the day, that’s who you have regardless of what may happen here or there. At the end of the day, we only have each other, and you just got to focus on that day-in and day-out, play-in and play-out and do it for one another.”